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Rendering courtesy of Reese/Vanderbilt & Associates and BlueLime Studio An artist rendering of the proposed Grand Bohemian at Historic Power Plant complex along West River Street. The existing power plant will be renovated into a boutique hotel and retail center while a combination exhibition space/parking garage (right side of rendering) is proposed for the west end of the site.

Georgia Power's dismantling of its Riverside electric plant on River Street will continue through September, according to a company spokeswoman..Demoltion work on the 93-year-old plant began last June. Workers with D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. of Atlanta are removing the power lines, smoke stacks and other infrastruture, a job initially scheduled for completion last month. ."We're just concentrating on doing a good job with it," said Georgia Power's Swann Seiler, who noted the brick building on the property, which dates to 1912, is being preserved..Georgia Power officials have yet to determine the future use of the facility.."We'll evaluate the options with that property when the work is completed," Seiler said.(Photo by Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

Georgia Power's dismantling of its Riverside electric plant on River Street will continue through September, according to a company spokeswoman..Demoltion work on the 93-year-old plant began last June. Workers with D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. of Atlanta are removing the power lines, smoke stacks and other infrastruture, a job initially scheduled for completion last month. ."We're just concentrating on doing a good job with it," said Georgia Power's Swann Seiler, who noted the brick building on the property, which dates to 1912, is being preserved..Georgia Power officials have yet to determine the future use of the facility.."We'll evaluate the options with that property when the work is completed," Seiler said.(Photo by Carl Elmore/Savannah Morning News)

Richard Kessler has a grand vision for remaking River Street’s west end.

The hotel developer and Savannah native unveiled his preliminary plans for the Plant Riverside site Thursday during a Savannah City Council workshop. The Grand Bohemian at Historic Power Plant will anchor the $100 million-plus redevelopment of the waterfront property, which straddles the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and River Street.

“We think it’s a significant piece of property,” Kessler told council members. “River Street is a tremendous asset to the city. If done carefully and thought out properly, we can do something that adds to that value.”

Redevelopment of the site, which Kessler bought for $9 million on New Year’s Eve, won’t begin for at least a year. Construction will take between 18 months and two years, meaning the hotel will open no earlier than 2016.

The 160-room Grand Bohemian is just one piece of the project. The hotel will be housed in the historic power plant, along with a café, a restaurant and bar, a 3,500-seat ballroom, a 3,000-square-foot art gallery and other upscale retail.

Kessler proposes to build a combination exhibition hall/parking garage to the west of the power plant along the riverfront.

The cleared lot east of the power plant, which once was home to the transformer farm, initially will be converted to a grassed plaza and reserved for future development.

“We have a lot more thinking to do there,” Kessler said of the eastern section. “That is a third piece of the puzzle on this site, and we have not decided on” how to utilize it.

Kessler’s project was warmly received by council, a testament to the success of his past development work in Savannah. The Grand Bohemian will be the seventh hotel he’s built in the Historic District since launching his development career in 1970.

Other notable Kessler projects include the Kehoe House, the Mansion on Forsyth Park and the Bohemian on River Street.

“When he came in with plans for the Mansion, he did exactly what he said he would do,” Mayor Edna Jackson said. “Whatever he puts his name to turns out to be something of beauty.”

Atlanta-based Reese-Vanderbilt & Associates, the same architecture firm that turned a funeral home into the Mansion on Forsyth Park and designed the Bohemian, will head the new project. One of the firm’s partners, Gray Reese, presented artists’ renderings of the project to council.

The renderings were done locally by BlueLime Studio.

Kessler currently is conducting laser surveys of the historic power plant. The original brick building dates to 1912 while the more industrial addition, complete with smokestacks, was built 50 years later.

“I enjoy taking things that have had a real purpose in the past and making them come alive again,” Kessler said. “This is an opportunity to recycle a great structure into something that fits today’s needs.”

Kessler’s presentation to council was part sales pitch. He has already approached Interim City Manager Stephanie Cutter about investing in the beautification of the MLK corridor between Bay Street and the river to “make MLK the welcome mat to River Street.”

Cutter said city staff is still formulating a recommendation on the issue.

Kessler acknowledged he is also likely to seek the city’s help in financing the 460-space parking garage on the western edge of the site. The garage will be open to the public and could be built as part of a public-private partnership similar to the one used to finance the underground garage at Ellis Square.

Another city-related issue is the extension of the riverwalk at the site.

Kessler estimated the complex will employ between 300 and 400 workers once completed and hundreds or thousands more during the development phase. Council members unanimously commended Kessler on the project at the conclusion of his presentation.

“It’s no secret that end of the street has been dead for a long, long time,” Alderman Tony Thomas said. “Hopefully this will clean up that whole area. This vision is unbelievably great for our city.”